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2015 Trends

For the second half of this decade, there are several major design elements that seem to be here to stay - for a while, at least. Trends stay current for around 10 years and most of these looks have been gaining popularity for the past five years.

The younger set is definitely driving the most major of changes. Monochromatic, all white or beige interiors seem boring now – unless there are pops of colors around. Twenty and thirty and forty year olds want color and pattern and they favor more contemporary and mid century designs.

For those like me – older and more settled – bold color and pattern can be very scary. Anything other than white has definitely been against my aesthetic, but I have to say, I am find myself more and more attracted to both color and pattern.

In my own family room – I recently changed out my simple striped curtains for patterned ones and added pops of pink linen. I really would love to add a pink chintz or patterned fabric to the chairs. Perhaps this year?

Patterns on the curtains added a lot more movement and interest to the room. So do the pink linen pillows. I would rather they be pink velvet – I prefer velvet pillows. The two tall side chairs would be wonderful slipped in a pink chintz fabric. But – I will never change out solid slipcovers on the major seating. With dogs, slips are the only way for me – plus, I still prefer a lighter interior over a dark one.

Ginger Barber made some major changes herself. For years she has lived in cottages or Georgian styled houses, filled with antiques and a monochromatic scheme. She recently moved to a townhouse with a distinctive mid century vibe – including a wall of wonderfully contemporary windows. She mixed in her antiques with touches of surprises – like this very modern cone light fixture with a gold metal finish. Her new house shows a perfect way to combine a traditional interior with updates from this decade to keep it fresh and young. Something as simple as a new light fixture can update a design.

Shannon Bowers introduced bright yellow and pinks to this living room filled with white. The yellow and pink are picked up in the paintings. In this room filled with antiques - Bowers added a contemporary Mouille light fixture and modern art. This room is a wonderful mix of classic and modern and would be perfect for a young family or empty nesters. I love this so much!

Eleanor Cummings took yellow even further – mixing it with green and aqua. And she added a tufted sofa, another look that has really taken off.

Here is how to add color and still be classic. A pink and white ikat is mixed with tufted white and antiques are mixed with modern furniture. This look could be for young or older.

Blue is a hot color this year. While many of the blues are very bright, I prefer a softer shade. Here, blue velvet is mixed in through the pillows and the settee. Velvet is a trendy fabric this decade. And – did you know that cotton velvet can be placed in the washing machine???? Yes!!

The biggest trend this decade is in lighting fixtures. The Sputnik is THE fixture to have. It’s everywhere now. Everywhere. And it instantly brings a trend factor to the room. Here, the trendy blue and the Sputnik make this room in style.

Lauren Liess – the popular interior designer and blogger – added this large Sputnik to her new living room. The oversized fixture is perfect for the room - it adds a youthful, contemporary touch to a room where texture is the main focus, along with the organic vibe Lauren is famous for.

This dining room mixes trendy velvet tufted furniture in pastel shades – along with a Sputnik. Pastel colors are another trend.

Here a mix of organic and contemporary features. Organic touches in a room – like this huge table continue to be popular.

A large Sputnik is mixed with classic looks in a traditional townhouse. The single large painting – is trendy.

A gorgeous crystal Sputnik – my favorite. The dark walls are a major trend, as is the patterned rug.

The Design Daredevil, Jessie Miller, created my favorite room in a One Room Challenge here. Created in just six weeks, this room is stunning. Stunning! It’s everything that the younger set is lusting after – and more. First, the dark, black walls. Black walls are everywhere right now – and this room shows you why. Again – the crystal Sputnik from Anteriors – gorgeous. Notice the classic medallion mixed with the contemporary fixture – ying and yang perfection!!! The fireplace is faux – a great idea to add architectural interest where there is none. Design Daredevil also added the molding. The bed? Another stunner. And gold – a big, big trend this decade.

Across the bed, she added a lone graphic painting mixed with trendy metals – golds and silvers with white ceramics. Trendy tufted leather settee. Fabulous room. No wonder designers are following Miller in droves. She’s one to watch.

The trend of dark rooms, black, blue, brown – started a while ago, but they have exploded recently. Aerin Lauder’s living room has been dark for years. A very popular interior, it probably was an inspiration for many of the dark interiors of today. Mix with the animal print and velvet pillows, it is gorgeous.

The bookcases were painted the same as the moldings in white – which brings relief to the dark room. Green velvet – another trend fabric - covers slipper chairs.

Dark lacquered walls with a contemporary fixture.

Dark walls, matte – with dark painted bookshelves. I think I like the bookshelves painted dark more than white

Across the room – another view. Here, the lone contemporary art work – in graphic black and white, another trend item.

Matte dark walls – with a wall of paintings. This Gallery Wall look is not new, but its popularity has grown even bigger.

A bedroom with dark walls – and white molding to pop a contrast. I love a dark bedroom.

Brooke Shields living room in NYC is also dark – and is also a mix of new and old.

Graphic painted floors are very trendy – here in black and white.

This black and white floor is a popular pattern. The room is a real mix – the floor, the antique styled chairs, the burled wood table, the modern light fixture – its young and fresh, but classic.

While a dusky maroon is Pantone’s color for 2015, mossy green seems more popular. It’s softer than black and brown and mixes nicely with blue.

Here, green walls and green velvet mixed with leopard – a very trendy look. And an oversized lone painting behind the sofa.

Dark walls, ethnic fabrics, mix of metals – but the biggest trend is the large tufted sofa. Tufted is back and huge this decade.

Katie Stassi Scott is a major talent. Major. I love what she did here – white walls, pink curtains, fabulous chandelier – and a large tufted red sofa. Love!

OK – Sally Wheat won the Paper City design contest with this remodel of her bedroom. When I saw it in person – my jaw dropped. The tufted bed is wonderful. But her patterned flame stitch carpet from Starke – in pastel grays and pinks - is WOW!!! GORGEOUS!!!!!! She showed me her choice before and I didn’t have the vision to see how fabulous it was going to be. O M G!!!!!! Well, no wonder she won First Place. I wasn’t surprised at all.

And in front of the window – she chose this pastel pink velvetmsofa with fabulous curves. Another WOW!!! The art work, the lamps, the table, the pillows. THAT RUG!!!!!!!!

The room was designed around the client’s vintage piano. Love the lamp and painting. Love this room!!

Christine is another huge talent and her designs are inspiring a host of young designers in Canada and in the U.S. Her popular kitchen is shown further down.

Is all white still trendy? Looking at Pam Pierce’s living room – yes! The mix of contemporary lamps and chairs and organic touches – tables and sconces. The iconic chairs. Yes and Yes.

Another all white – yes. Love this. The simple mix of the patterned fabric adds just a pop.

Add the Mouille and an antique bed with the French mattress all in white – yes. By Christine, again.

Oscar de la Renta and his first wife – decades ago. It looks like from today, doesn’t it? Trendy? This is so trendy for today, its hard to believe it’s almost 50 years old.

Wallpaper is a huge trend right now. And the handpainted choice is for those lucky enough to afford it.

Another take off on an iconic interior. Love this room. Both by Mark Sikes.

Miles Redd may have started the resurgence in wallpaper. He uses it all the time and he is someone that everyone watches. This delicate print mixed with chintz – in candy colors and tufted velvet was pinned over and over and seems to have inspired many.

The younger set went for more contemporary designs. Tufted headboard and patterned carpet.

Katie Stassi Scott used Cole and Sons Magnolia here. The chandelier is to die for.

And here is Bailey McCarthy, another huge talent, blogger of Peppermint Bliss and owner of Biscuit. Her fans have followed her from Chicago to Austin to Houston to wherever she wants to go. Bailey uses classic fabrics in a new way – and her designs are wildly popular. An entry.

Bailey uses airy, floral wallpapers and fabrics. Her bedding at her store is wonderful.

Ruthie Sommers designed a house that used pink throughout and wonderful Cowtan and Tout’s Amelie.

The living room in Ruthie’s designed house is in browns and pinks and greens.

Here, lilacs and chintzes. This ultra feminine look seems fresh and young and is nice alternative to the dark rooms and statement marbles.

Rosa Beltran used pinks and pastels and the Anthropologie mural wallpaper that keeps popping up around the web.

Here the Visual Vamp Valorie Hart remodeled her bedroom using the same paper. I love what she did to her bedroom!

And across the bedroom – more of the fabulous wallpaper.

Changes in kitchens are in the metals – brass has made a HUGE comeback. It’s probably the trendiest trend around. Brass. Go figure. Suddenly nickel seems out of style. Sob. I should have just left my brass where it was. This trend from brass to nickel to brass came around so fast, and it’s such an expensive thing to change out hardware, it’s a real lesson. I’m just not sure what the lesson is though. In this kitchen – the designer used a mix of metals.

And stone sinks, usually in powder bathrooms, are another trend.

Christine, again, designed her kitchen with shiny brass. I think she started the trend. Everyone lusted after her kitchen.

Christine’s breakfast room.

Ahhh.

Randall Powers kitchen. Dark, trendy green paint on the cabinets.

Green and gold and brass.

And here in Bailey’s own home – gorgeous brass and green cabinets. Another trend? The La Cornue which is now available at Williams Sonoma. See her pink dining room to the right.

Bailey also designed this fabulous kitchen with shiny brass.

Another trendy kitchen with the black and brass accents.

In bathrooms, stand alone tubs are seen more and more. At Velvet and Linen’s new house, they used unfinished brass hardware which will patina. So beautiful!

This bathroom in London is to die for. Trendy brass and white marble.

The shower!!

And the stand alone tub.

Here the Visual Vamp in her new bathroom with its tiny sink and brass fixtures.

This bathroom has all the trends, the beautiful tile, the brass, stand alone tub, and stone sink.

And for fun, teepees are the biggest trend ever.

Everyone has a teepee these days. From the Kardashians to my own great-niece who had a teepee First Birthday party theme.

OK – one more Bailey photo! Her nursery with its own teepee.

Not sure where the teepee trend started and not sure where a lot of trends started. But you can see how designers inspire other designers and a trend grows. Pinterest and Instagram is spreading designs so quickly which creates these trends. Today an unpublished designer can pin and IG her work and be followed and inspire others, whereas before only published designers were capable of that.

That’s why I showed so much of Bailey McCarthy. I see her inspiring so many others through her blog.

Trends are tricky though. It’s hard sometimes to not start over when your own beloved trend is now completely out of date. This is a new problem to our throwaway generation.

If you can figure out what to do with a houseful of out of style accessories, give me a call!!!

They'll will think I'm still on holiday if I stay home to peruse this awesome post this morning. So much eye candy but your sofa is still one of my favorites. I like the high back. Great way to start a new year and week Joni.

Great post,Joni I would love to wallpaper something,anything in our house again, but I am afraid my husband would divorce me-LOL-he spent many many hours 4 years ago stripping hundreds of rolls from our 5,000 sq ft home in order to please me by painting and for resale-well, we sold our home and bought a 1200 ft condo on a golf course in Charleston,SC and boy would it be fun to paper a room or two, with some of those gorgeous hand painted wallpapers, I am literally too afraid to bring it up, because he mentioned ,never,ever again will he go through that torture! Thanx again for the great ideas!

Hi Kathi123 - do you have a powder room in your 1200 foot condo? Powder rooms can always handle a heavy dose of wallpaper. You could probably do it while he is out of the house for an afternoon and he wouldn't notice it for weeks! OMG! Use strippable wallpaper and, if the time ever comes, take it down yourself.

Hi Joni, Noticed your new, patterned curtains a few posts back. Vervain? And love your new pink pillows. Seriously, YOU know you can have them in velvet even with dogs. Mohair velvet is not that expensive, especially with your decorator's discount, and Mohair lasts forever! That is what used to be used to upholster theater seats.

Teepees? Well, I don't follow the Kardasians but don't we all love a cosey, enclosed space when we are sleeping? Look at the undiminished popularity of canopy beds and alcove beds.

Happy to see some color and life coming back into design "fashion". Now that we are coming out of the financial recession, people are just happier! Look for shorter skirts and more color everywhere. We might even see some people using real fur! La Contessa Elizabeth from The Vintage Henhouse blog has never let that stop her. Oo-la-la!

I'm so inspired from this post Joni girl!!! I need to get off my butt and handle things around my new house and this was just the ticket. How do I miss all these fab new designers??? Do I live under a rock? So much stalking to do with my coffee this morning all thanks to you! Kiss kiss and happy new year!!! Oh yeah, how to update all your accessories...paint them!

Joni this post is just what I needed. I'm beginning the decorating process for my great room in the Southern Calif. desert. The Palm Springs area is a mecca for mid-century style and since my taste leans traditional and transitional I'm wary of the mid century styles. Now I see how they can mix and I do want a little bit of trendy. I've also been in a quandary over ceiling light fixtures and now I see a sputnik is in my future. Thank you for a wonderful lesson in decorating!

So fun to see so much pink. Pink and yellow are my color picks for the color(s) for 2015!! Fun to see them done so beautifully by designers in your blog post! http://goodlifeofdesign.blogspot.com/2015/01/my-color-pick-for-2015.htmlYour post are always so thorough and informative. Love some of the new trends and the colors!!

Thanks for sharing these beautiful rooms. The pink lighting fixture is fabulous! I don't care how trendy the Sputnik lights are, they look like a porcupine hanging from the ceiling to me. I'm glad to see wallpaper coming back into favor. I know so many people hate it, but the right amount in the right place is so gorgeous!

i think semi glass. lacquer is expensive to have be done right? and i think black needs a bit of sheen to it. don't think outside light has to be there - in fact, it might be better to do black in a dark room.

Fun post! I dream of a velvet tufted sofa but its a no go for me - dogs - so I am still stuck with the white slip covered. I like the very soft pinks but I think that color is definitely a trend - I see it everywhere now, it has even made its way to the bigger chain stores (H&M) and of course clothing (I think that came first). I think it came on in interiors because people had so much gray and black and the pink goes, even the hipsters are embracing this color. Speaking of...that is the one area you didn't cover - hipster decor. I see it all over the internet (young bloggers) and its all the same - all stark white walls, maybe a black wall here or there, tree stumps, a hanging American flag on the wall, that same fluffy rug in cream and black, southwest textiles, simple pottery, lots of brass, cactus, mid century furniture...ugh, I don't like any of it.

But, I do love all the photos you have gathered here, some beautiful rooms. I am trying to freshen things up and this post is inspiring!

Oh, if your wondering about the hipster design trends take a look at - Door Sixteen, Manhattan Nest, Bleubird (about a million followers a month and I cannot stand her!) - their home decor is all of the same ilk. Very bland and uniformed. Each to their own though.

Great lesson on how to incorporate new trends in traditional decor. I love when a designer takes apart a room and points out what is obvious to them but not to our untrained eye. Thank you, Joni! I'm going to go back and study this post again.

Hi Joni, a great round up. I need to read more of it (I looked at all the photos!) to see what you've identified as you have a great eye. I'm noticing all the colour and the neutral decor we love disappearing. But it's easy to add to the neutral decor. I still love off-white walls and a pale palette (I can't do white walls - no architecture in this house). We are renovating this year (kitchen), so I am curious to see how the year looks - I will go classic anyway so it doesn't matter much. I don't care for all the sputniks. I don't like modern glam. I feel like the excessive 80's is coming back a little - do you? The colour is the first thing and the gold everywhere and before you know it, we will be in full Miles Redd/Kelly Wearstler glam mode. Then the other look seems to be that spare modern rustic look - all white walls and pale wood everywhere. I am feeling a bit lost and realizing I like the classics, neoclassical, pale, but a note of dark is always a great contrast. I have a lot of blue already in my house, slate gray blue, and some sage greens. That's as crazy as I get. Though some days I see floral wallpaper and want it! Colour is good for us - brightens the spirits. My wardrobe is what needs updated colour wise, long before my house!

Love your posts. Always reading but not commenting as much as I used to. Happy New Year to you and Ben and I hope he and you are well. I am full of botox and my headaches have been pretty good and I look very young, like a young Frankenstein more like. Haha. xo Terri

my migraines are much better after going easy( almost none) of the things listed here diet wise and taking magnesium twice a day,Aspartame (Equal, NutraSweet)Caffeine (Caffeine can help stop a migraine when it starts, but if you don’t drink the same amount every day, caffeine withdrawal can trigger a migraine.)ChocolateCultured dairy products, such as yogurtBroad beans, such as fava beansNuts and nut buttersNitrates and nitrites, which are found in processed meats such as bacon and cold cutsSulfites, which are found in wineTyramine, which is found in aged cheeses and meats, and fermented beveragesYellow Dye Number 6, which is used in Doritos, Mountain Dew, and Peepsthis comes from http://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/food-and-migraine-a-personal-connection-201104052222 good luck

Happy New Year, Joni!! Great photos of some really strong design work...I am loving some of the fresh mix of traditional and contemporary that I am seeing currently...its certainly lively! one OBJECTION, tho....I refuse to accept that you ( and I ) are the "OLDER SET". lol Our clients are certainly younger, but I refuse to think of us as anything other than "seasoned" designers!!

While I love unlacquered brass and kept our beautiful dining room chandelier in this metal when my interior designer wanted to change it (after she saw the finished room, she told me that she was glad we had kept it), I am not loving all these photos as the style does not make me happy. I think there IS a lesson here---decorate your home in a way that makes you happy. There will always be trends, but not all of them are beautiful.

'If you can figure out what to do with a houseful of out of style accessories, give me a call!" I admire your talent and admit I have been coveting your globe collection for many years. If you ever get a notion to sell, e-mail me first! Greg

Thanks so much for the mention of my one room challenge dining room --- you mentioned I was inspired by Bailey... in fact I do love her work --it's amazing! but my inspiration came years earlier from Cynthia Rowley believe it or not!! I've had this wallpaper forover 5 years and just refreshed my room with many of the items you said were on trend! brass, bar cart, pastel furniture etc. I LOVED LOVED LOVED this post. you were so right on. Thanks for gathering all of these images... I will go back and study them more carefully. Love your new pillows and draperies. Makes all the difference! Thanks again. love your blog!!! xoxo

Very beautiful and informative post. I also love the changes to your family room -- print curtains, pink pillows, and the most effective (but least noticed/commented on) update: the reduction of visual interest/clutter around your coffee table (eliminated under-table objects, zebra rug). The last change completely opened up the room, making it look fresher, prettier, and more modern. While I loved the "before", the new look is even better.

If you ever get the itch to change something again, one suggestion might be the fireplace tiles. Of course, there's no real need, as the brown ties in nicely with the new curtains. However, if you ever become as tired as I am of these 1990s tiles (I had them in a previous home and saw them again last week in a hotel elevator), it should be a relatively easy switch-out.

A new stone fireplace would look wonderful. If it were me -- and knowing from your blog that your taste has remained consistent over the years (European/antiques) and you're expecting to remain in that house -- I'd go for a French antique limestone mantle (real or good reproduction). I prefer a mantle only (i.e. no chimney piece rising up) because it gives more decorating options. I like the mantles of Shannon Bowers and Pam Pierce (photos 3 and 43 above) because of their visual interest (crunchy texture and/or slight curves) while remaining classic (i.e. not fussy). Clean lines like Eleanor Cummings' limestone mantle (Milieu Summer 2014, page 88) look good, too, although that particular fireplace looks a bit on the thin side to me.

Anonymous said...I've always been bored with the neutral white/gray rooms. I like, and need,color and pattern to keep things interesting, so,of course, I enjoyed this post. I like the additions to your room, especially the patterned draperies. (I was taught to use that term, rather than curtains, and haven't broken the habit.) This was a real treat and a post to be enjoyed and studied. Thanks for your comments also. I vote with those who are not enamoured with the sputnik light fixtures, by the way. Happy New Year.

Joni Joni, Joni.....I was reading along, then got distracted by a blogger you mentioned. Then that took me too..... about an hour later I ended up back at your post and realized I was only 1/4 of the way through! Man.....can you do a thorough post! Like your pink additions...agree with the velvet though. agree with the trends...some I like...others not so much. I have to say I am over the gray everthing....color is right up my alley. And guess what...I have a orange, tufted couch! (okay...so I got the tufted part right...)

OMG, all those pale pink walls are making me laugh. The nasty dilapidated vacant-for-six-years-and-counting Dutch Colonial next door to me has pale pink painted walls in the living room, which I can see from the front windows. Probably painted originally in the 50's? Or early 60's? What comes around goes around, right?

I haven't read your posts in so long, and i don't know why... just been too busy and overwhelmed with social media stuff... But to me you are the design goddess when it comes to information about trends, and what is timeless and looks great. This was fascinating and so informative. So as i was reading i was thinking... no love for the sputnik... except for the one room with the crystal sputnik and the black walls and faux fireplace.... Whoa, fabulous. I also loved the room by Katie Stassi Scott... what a great room. Love the trend with the pink walls, and pink sofas, mixed with more contemporary stuff, and always have a passion good velvet. The big canvases with black and white... meh.. and maybe i'm just old, but the brass seems too trendy to me. But you know what, i don't know jack, just sharing an opinion which no one will care about at all. Thanks for compiling all that... it was great!

The answer is simple and the same as it's always been. Don't follow every silly new trend that comes along. Learn what you truly love in your own heart and have the guts to own it. The classics never go "out" And classics do come in many styles and eras.. The very word trendy says that the money you have just spent and the effort you have put in will soon need redoing. Become your own real self. It's fulfilling and liberating and admired.Sheila

I wonder how to do gold accents without crossing the bridge to tacky. I do love the resurgence of gold accents - but I definitely know, for me, keep it off the faucets and the shower door and the range hoods. Gold silverware, Ick! Trim elegant coffee table - can do!

So good to hear that the boring beiges are trending away - and colour coming back. Thank you for the wonderful slideshow of latest designs. My most favourite of all though is the one that's not new at all - the Oscar de la Renta bedroom. This is stunningly beautiful and created by a true artist so it's lasted and hasn't been captive to latest trends. Others I particularly liked were Aerin Lauder's dark toned room and the one (not named) with the dark walls and ethnic fabric on the chairs - which combines drama with great warmth and personality and has more originality than most of the rooms shown. Many of the others, while attractive, look too decorator/stylist done without a personal touch from real life and are not like real homes at all. They don't feel lived in or loved or have much personality. Your living room has a lovely feeling of serenity and the new curtains are beautiful. However I feel the bright pink cushions are too harsh a contrast and too unrelated to the other colours. Would prefer to see perhaps patterned cushions using a deeper tone of the accent colour in the curtains mixed with white and deep/light blues to pick up the lovely blues in your china collection. Then perhaps you might be able to add the current pink ones to the mix and the contrast wouldn't be so jarring. Happy New Year! Pamela

This was an amazing post. I have been trying to figure this out myself for months and I had picked out many of the ones that you mentioned-graphic floors, dark paint colors, wallpaper, brass and gold but you, as usual, did a more thorough job. You have been my favorite blogger for years and years and I have gotten such a design education reading your posts! THANK YOU!!!

It is the cheap 'builder brass' from the 80's that was so bad...better quality, whether unlacquered or not, is what is making a comeback. Brass/gold is warm, and I love the mix of metals. Then we don't have to be slaves to each trending metal. You get what you pay for in everything and good quality will stand the test of time despite the trends.

Thank You so much for this wonderful Giveaway..........I just discovered your blog a few months back and love to read about your home and how you have decorated each and every room! I want to move in! velvet pillow covers

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